


will be my homecoming

by siojo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Gen, minor shanks/benn, referenced stockholm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 13:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12818967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siojo/pseuds/siojo
Summary: “Eighty days,” He whispers to Kotatsu softly. “That’s a long time. We’ve been here for almost three months,” he swallows and glances at the paper again. “It’s, I think we need to do this now before it’s too late, don’t you?”





	will be my homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> everything is ana's fault, tho she was aided by min.

Ace holds the scrap of paper in his hands and stares at the days marked on the wall, counting each breath that he takes it, making sure that he has each one marked off before closing his eyes and collapsing back against Kotatsu, burying his face into the Lynx’s fur.

 

“Eighty days,” He whispers to Kotatsu softly. “That’s a long time. We’ve been here for almost three months,” he swallows and glances at the paper again. “It’s, I think we need to do this now before it’s too late, don’t you?”

 

Kotatsu purrs and Ace doesn’t know if that’s an agreement or if that’s because Ace’s hand has found a spot that had been itching. He lays there for a moment longer, before standing up and brushing off his clothes, Kotatsu already moving to follow him.

 

“Stay,” Ace urges, Kotatsu butts against his palm and Ace rolls his eyes. “Stay ‘Tatsu.” Kotatsu steps on Ace’s boots and Ace shakes his head, “Stubborn.”

 

It takes ages to lure Kotatsu to lay back down and slip out of the storage room that they had taken over on one of the lower levels of the ship, making his way past the carefully choreographed patrol routes and the lingering members of the crew on his way to the communications deck.

 

All of Ace’s denden had been taken when he had been brought on board the Moby Dick and he hadn’t been given a new one, no matter how many times he had asked for one. None of the crew had even offered to let him make a call when he had asked but they had made the mistake of letting him have far too much space to explore on his own. He knew which ones would make calls to distances and which would end up being monitored.

  
  


Dropping down from the vents silently is difficult, but Ace;s landing is soft enough that he doesn’t seem to draw any attention to himself, taking a deep breath as he watches a patrol pass before moving towards the denden he would need. He snatches one up, grabbing a second before climbing back into the vent that he had used to slip into the room unseen, taking a deep breath when the patrol came through moments after he got the grate closed, turning to find himself face to face with fish breath.

 

“Kotatsu,” Ace mutters, smiling despite himself because he was glad to see him. “What are you doing here, silly kitty?”

 

Kotatsu butts his head against Ace’s face, gifting him with more fish breath and rubbing against his face until Ace finally gives up and rubs back, Kotatsu purring loudly.

 

“Do you hear that?” Ace hears from somewhere beneath them, scratching behind Kotatsu’s ears, unable to move until he convinced Kotatsu to turn and head back to their hiding place.

 

“It’s one of the ship’s cats, you idiot. Probably in the ventilation system after something that snuck on board during the last docking. You’re such a chicken.”

 

Ace snorts as they keep talking and hurry off, taking his time to urge Kotatsu up and around and back to their hiding place, closing and locking the door behind him when he’s finally gotten back inside and cleared it of everything that he could possibly think of finding beyond a few cats that he was certain couldn’t cause any trouble as he pulled his crumbled piece of paper and smooths it out as best he can to get the number scribbled onto it.

 

“Will you call this?” Ace asks the first denden hopefully, holding the number out it. “I just want to talk to them, it’s important to me and I’m not going to plan the deaths of anyone on board with them.”

 

The denden blinks twice before it starts to ring, just as Kotatsu crawls into Ace’s lap, sprawling across him with as much grace as a cat could when trying to take up as much space as it could, attempting to soak up all of the warmth that Ace radiated..

 

* * *

  
  


Shanks hisses as he hits the floor, his chin slamming into the floor and smacking his teeth into his tongue, his arm already forcing himself upright because the denden was still ringing. The denden is screaming at him to wake up and answer it, just like he had made sure that it would when he had purchased it years ago to be his personal line.

 

“Shut it up,” Benn hisses pulling Shanks’ pillow over his face. “It’s two in the morning.”

 

“It’s only one thirty,” Shanks snaps back still staring at the denden. There were only five people in the world who would have that number and the list of reasons that they should be calling this late at night was even shorter than that. “Red Hair Shanks speaking.”

 

“Shanks?”

 

Shanks’ heart stops, “Ace? Kiddo, are you okay? No one’s seen you in months and last anyone heard about you was that you beat Jinbei and then lost to Whitebeard,” He can feel Benn sitting up on the bed behind him, moving closer. “Where are you?”

 

“On the Moby Dick.”

 

“Why didn’t you call sooner, Ace? You had me worried. You had Luffy worried. Hell, Garp was worried and you know how he gets. He’s been making plans to go out of his way to get into a fight with Whitebeard to avenge you.”

 

The denden looks away and Shanks doesn’t like the unease that settles over him, “They didn’t let me have a denden.”

 

“They?”

 

“Whitebeard and his men. I had to steal this one. They wouldn’t give me this one and I, this place is starting to feel safe and the people are  _ nice _ to me.”

 

Shanks is going to kill Whitebeard, murder him the same way that he’s been planning to kill the Marines and the World Government since they killed Roger and sent the rest of the Roger Pirates scurrying to the ends of the world. The crew is going to follow their captain for hurting his captain’s son, it’s only fair. The denden jerks slightly and smiles, “‘Tatsu.”

 

“Tatsu?” Shanks asks.

 

“Kotatsu,” Ace says brightly. “He’s our cat,” His face, at least the facsimile of it that he can see from the denden mushi, looks sad. “The Spade’s cat. He’s been with me the whole time since they don’t let me see my crew much.”

 

“Kiddo, did you tell them that you didn’t want to join their crew?”

 

Ace nods, “They said that I would join them anyway, I don’t have a choice. I don’t wanna join them, Shanks. I want to leave and they won’t let me. They, they don’t-”

 

“Okay kiddo,” Shanks says softly. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me more. I understand if that’s all you can say about the situation. It’s okay. Do you want me to pick you up?”

 

“Please?”

 

“Alright, then we’ll come and get you. Talk to Benn for me while I go and direct the crew to shift course, okay kiddo?” Shanks asks glancing at Benn. “Do you mind talking to Benn?”

 

Ace hums, “Benn is nice.”

 

“Thanks kid, I think you’re nice too,” Benn says accepting the denden from Shanks. “Tell me about Kotatsu? I like cats, Shanks won’t let me have one, apparently he’s allergic.”

 

“I’m allergic!” Shanks shouts hurrying out the room as Ace laughter follows him out the room. He closes the door and can feel the moment that he lets it all hit him. Lets what one of his fellow Yonko, the one that he had thought was trustworthy, has done to the boy that was all but his little brother. “Fuck, fuck.”

 

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment before taking off down the hallway, slamming open doors as he goes, barely keeping his conqueror's haki under control. Roo looks up as he steps into the room.

 

“Captain?”

 

“We’re going to meet up with Whitebeard,” Shanks states coldly. “I don’t care what you need to do to make sure that we get there, but we will get there soon.”

 

Roo raises an eyebrow, “Shanks?”

 

“We’re going to pick up Ace and we need to arrive there as soon as you can arrange it.”

 

“Roger that Captain,” Roo states frowning at the map they have pinned to the wall, marking the positions of their allies and a number of their enemies, finding the last known position for Whitebeard and plotting a course. “Sir, is this going to end in a fight?”

 

Shanks tips his head to the side, “Only if they don’t give us back Ace and his crew. They don’t have any right to keep him.”

 

“No one has the right to keep him against his will,” Roo offers. “We can be there by late tomorrow or early the day after. I’m not sure which, but we will be there soon.”

 

“Good, I’ll let Ace know we’re on our way.”

 

* * *

 

Whitebeard raises an eyebrow as the first of his children drops, Shanks’ ship coming closer, but this was the first time that this had happened, the first time that Shanks had released his haki while still so far from the Moby. The men and women aboard the Moby were dropping slowly, unable to get below deck like they normally could.

 

“He seems upset,” Marco states slowly, standing in the shadow of Whitebeard’s chair. “Do you think something has happened and we missed it?”

 

“Who knows son. Have your weaker siblings head below deck and drag the unconscious down with them, we don’t want them to be in the way should something happen,” Whitebeard pauses. “Make sure to warn Ace.”

 

“If we can find him, Pops. He’s gotten better at hiding himself since we found his last few hiding places and you know that we’re never going to be able to find him in time.”

 

Whitebeard nods, “If you see him. Pass the word on to your siblings.”

 

“Will do, pops,” Marco promises. “Haruta! Jiro! Get your asses over here!”

 

Whitebeard leans back in his chair and watches the Red Force advance on them. There’s something going on, he’s sure. He doesn’t know what it is, but he knows that it is something. He’s not sure that Shanks was this upset even when Roger was killed all those years ago, but he’s furious now. Mad enough that Whitebeard is sure that the Marines were starting to get concerned about what he would do, as they were always concerned about Shank’s actions.

 

It’s only more obvious when Shanks steps onto the ship.

 

“Shanks, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

 

“You have something that doesn’t belong to you,” Shanks answers and Whitebeard hasn’t heard that tone in a long time. Not since Roger had been alive. “And I want it back.”

 

“I didn’t know we had something of your’s, Shanks. I know we didn’t steal anything from anyone recently.”

 

Shanks doesn’t smile, doesn’t react, his face still dark, “I want my brother back, Edward. Where is he?”

 

There’s a noise somewhere off to the side, a grate breaking and something tumbling out, Whitebeard wants to look over, wants to see what it is, but he can’t take his eyes off of Shanks. He can’t risk it, not when Shanks seems to think he has stolen his little brother.

 

“Ace, are you alright there, little one?” Shanks asks without breaking eye contact. “Benn, help my brother.”

 

“I’m on it, Captain,” Benn answers quickly, moving towards Ace, helping him back to his feet with careful hands and soft questions that don’t carry across the distance. “He’s fine, sir.”

 

“Brother?” Whitebeard asks, because they hadn’t heard of Shanks having family, hadn’t heard of him having anyone that he considered close enough to be family beyond his crew.

 

“You kidnapped him and kept him here. You didn’t let him call anyone when he asked and you refused to let him leave when he asked, why would I tell you anything about him, Edward Newgate?” Shanks snaps haki flaring around him. “You’re lucky, you’re lucky Ace asked me not to kill you. I’m taking him and his men and we’re leaving. You won’t keep him. Roger would be disappointed in you.”

 

“We didn’t do anything to him,” Marco says in confusion. “I said he could leave. He just, he had to ask and I would have taken him anywhere he wanted to go.”

 

Shanks raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything, “You kept him after he said he wanted to leave. You forced him to stay. He’s leaving. Him and his crew too. All of them.”

 

“You’re leaving?” Shanks pretends not to hear, pretends not to see Marco too close to his little brother, one of the people who hurt his little brother, still demanding more of him.

 

“I’d rather be dead than working under someone who won’t take no for an answer, who won’t respect my choices.”

 

“Stay safe. I don’t want to hear that you’ve been killed by the marines or something the next time I pick up a news coos,” Marco states and Shanks would care if this man hadn’t  _ kidnapped _ Ace. “I’ll help Shanks’ men get the rest of your crew.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You do understand that this is the end of our alliance,” Shanks states distracting Whitebeard. “You can of course count on me against the other Yonkou, but we are no longer going to be the same kind of allies that we were before, we never will be.”

* * *

  
  


“Do you want to tell me about it?” Shanks asks, brushing Ace’s hair from his face, Ace and Kotatsu curled together on his bed. “What happened?”

 

“No,” Ace mutters tiredly, eyes closed and faced buried in Shanks’ shirt. “But, maybe- maybe later?”

 

Shanks smiles, “I can wait, little one. I can wait until you’re more comfortable. So you know what you want to do now you’re away from Whitebeard?”

 

“I, I think that I need to train,” Ace yawns.

 

“Training huh? I think I can arrange some training for you. Would you like me to see if I can ask my friends to help you get some more training?”

 

“Sleep first, Shanks,” Ace mumbles. “Sleepy.”

 

“Of course, little one, how could I forget, time to sleep,” Shanks kisses his temple. “Go to sleep, sleep and when you wake up, we’ll talk about training.”


End file.
